The New Cricket Thread

[Jairzinho]

They'll still see us as the main threat though. They'd much rather Bangladesh or whoever sneaked in to 4th.

[Guest Pistonbroke]

1 minute ago, Jairzinho said:

They'll still see us as the main threat though. They'd much rather Bangladesh or whoever sneaked in to 4th.

True, but they'll want to avoid injuries and maybe rest a few important players. Especially that final game v NZ. Of course, we are capable of beating all three if we play well. 

[VERBAL DIARRHEA]

Brainless batting. Laughably bad.

[s(k)aturation]

This Top 4 will remain intact.

 

Yes, I suspect England will beat Australia next.

[Captain Turdseye]

A lot depends on how much sandpaper your boys can get away with, J. 

[sir roger]

BBC suggesting it may inadvertently help us if we qualify , as it makes it more likely we would play a semi at Old Trafford rather than spin-friendly Edgbaston.

[s(k)aturation]

32 minutes ago, Captain Turdseye said:

A lot depends on how much sandpaper your boys can get away with, J. 

 

Apparently, we've developed a more advanced version incorporating sulphuric acid in the sand granules.

[Red Shift]

That's a good win for Sri Lanka, threatening to put themselves in the playoffs ahead of India, but I don't think they'll do it.

Black Caps should finish top, still with a game in hand. Williamson batting himself into form.

[Guest Pistonbroke]

IMO The table will finish.......

 

India Currently have 7 points off 4 games

NZ..........................9 points off 5

England...................8 points off 6

Australia..................10 points off 6

Sri Lanka..................6 points off 6

Bangladesh...............5 points off 6

West Indies...............3 points off 5

 

 

Remaining fixtures for those teams.

 

India have. Afghanistan, West Indies, England and Bangladesh

 

NZ have West Indies, Pakistan, Australia and England

 

England have Australia, India and NZ

 

Australia have England, NZ and South Africa

 

Sri Lanka have South Africa, West Indies and India

 

Bangladesh have Afghanistan, India and Pakistan

 

West Indies have NZ, India, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan

[Guest Pistonbroke]

India v Afghanistan. India won toss and decided to bat.

 

India lose Sharma for 1 early doors! 9/1 off 5 overs on a really slow wicket. 

 

Mujeeb bowling really well and should have had a second wicket off a genuine edge, but they moved first slip to second slip position and guess where it went.....

[Jairzinho]

The reverse sweep, comfortably the worst shot in the history of sport.

[Guest Pistonbroke]

Kohli with another half century. India 97/2 off 22 overs. After a good start with the ball from Afghanistan, India are now pulling away on a pitch that 240/250 could be par, they'll probably end up closer to 300 now. 

[Jairzinho]

Well, that gives Afghanistan a half chance.

[Guest Pistonbroke]

Went out with the dog and missed 2 wickets falling. Afghanistan have pulled things back a bit. 

[Jairzinho]

Guessing India will get 260/270 ish. Probably should have found a way to get 300. Pitch looks really difficult to get the ball way though.

[Guest Pistonbroke]

8 minutes ago, Jairzinho said:

Guessing India will get 260/270 ish. Probably should have found a way to get 300. Pitch looks really difficult to get the ball way though.

Slow and gripping, a bit like yesterday. It will be harder to bat on as the day progresses. If India make Par 250 ish on this wicket it will be too many for Afghanistan. 

[Jairzinho]

9 minutes ago, Pistonbroke said:

Slow and gripping, a bit like yesterday. It will be harder to bat on as the day progresses. If India make Par 250 ish on this wicket it will be too many for Afghanistan. 

Comfortably, mate.

 

Doubt Afghanistan could chase 200 on this wicket, against India.

[Guest Pistonbroke]

2 minutes ago, Jairzinho said:

Comfortably, mate.

 

Doubt Afghanistan could chase 200 on this wicket, against India.

Yeah, India have a very good bowling attack. India probably won't *lose a game in the group stage. They may struggle against England though. *Trouble is that when they get to the KO phase that could be a disadvantage. 

[Jairzinho]

6 minutes ago, Pistonbroke said:

Yeah, India have a very good bowling attack. India probably won't *lose a game in the group stage. They may struggle against England though. *Trouble is that when they get to the KO phase that could be a disadvantage. 

Yeah, should be interesting. The semi finals should be really good games whatever the match ups.

[Guest Pistonbroke]

2 minutes ago, Jairzinho said:

Yeah, should be interesting. The semi finals should be really good games whatever the match ups.

 

NZ have a very good bowling outfit, they rely on Williamson a lot though when batting. If he has a bad day in the KO phase it could be disaster. You can never write the Aussies off if their top order fires, they also have match changing bowlers. England have to rely on their big hitters and hope Roy is fit, bowling wise they have the pace but can also be expensive when put under pressure. India probably have the best all round team, but pressure is a funny thing. 

Having said that, one of those 4 may still yet struggle to make the semi's, i doubt it though. 

[Jairzinho]

Looking more like 235/240 here.

[Guest Pistonbroke]

Rashid bowling well, especially at this stage of the innings. 

[Guest Pistonbroke]

This is great depth bowling by Rashid, shows how slow this pitch is and the spinners are getting turn. Giving themselves a sniff here, Afghanistan, but India should still win on a pitch taking spin, slow and with big boundaries. 

[Guest Pistonbroke]

So India make 224/8. Probably 20/25 short of a par score. I'll be surprised if Afghanistan aren't skittled out for less than 150 though.

 

Meanwhile the Windies won the toss and put NZ into bat. NZ 22/2 off 6 overs, going to rely on Williamson again, if he goes soon we could see an upset there, plus the Windies would still have a sniff at top 4, they do have India next though. If they win today against NZ and again v India then they'll fancy themselves. 

[Rico1304]

Ian Bell has just tweeted that he’s playing his first game in 4 months today, been out injured.  Golden duck.